The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

I might as well tell you up front how to pronounce the last word of the title: "in-uh-SHARE-in." I won't provide similar guidance for the character names, because you're not likely to say them until after you've watched.

On a tiny ficitious isle in 1923, Pádraic (Colin Farrell) suddenly finds that his drinking buddy Colm (Brendan Gleeson) wants nothing more to do with him. Colm eventually explains that he'd rather pursue a legacy as a composer for the fiddle than listen to Pádraic's unenriching blabber. Pádraic won't give up on him that easily, thinking he's just going through a depressive phase. Colm threatens self-mutilation if Pádraic won't stop talking to him. Things get uglier from there.

The Batman (2022)

Despite my friend (that one) saying he could watch this repeatedly, I was not in a great hurry to see it. He told me it resembled Se7en, which is not what I look for in my fare, especially when others had made it sound like the darkest live-action Batman feature yet. Under most circumstances, I would wait and watch it at home. But when my Net went down and I decided to kill a few hours at a local theater, this was the most promising offering.

At the start of this story, Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) has been donning the cowl for about two years, so many no-name crooks flee at the sight of the Bat Signal, but some are more confident. Gotham City Police Lieutenant Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) trusts the vigilante, but higher-ups are leerier. Regardless, it makes a certain sense to call him in when someone assassinates the mayor (Rupert Penry-Jones) and leaves an envelope labeled, "To the Batman." It becomes clear that the self-styled Riddler (Paul Dano) has several more high-profile targets in mind....

The Beguiled (2017)

When I accepted the Meetup invitation to see this, I didn't know that it was a remake -- or rather, as the director insisted, a second cinematic adaptation of a book. Some of the older group members had seen the Clint Eastwood version and found it haunting, so there was a bit to live up to. For my part, I wanted to see a promising Sofia Coppola film for the first time since Lost in Translation.

Cpl. John McBurnie (Colin Farrell), a Union deserter with a fresh leg wound, finds reluctant hospitality at a Confederate girl school with headmistress Martha Farnsworth (Nicole Kidman), teacher Edwina Murrow (Kirsten Dunst), and five students (of whom Elle Fanning plays the probable eldest). Despite his official enemy status, he garners the affectionate interest of eventually all seven ladies. Martha figures on sending him away upon recovery, but when he gets well enough to tend the neglected garden, it becomes more tempting to let him stay. Alas, his intentions are not all innocent, let alone harmless in effect to others or himself.

The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus (2009)

Much as I dug Monty Python in my teens, I get nervous about checking out Terry Gilliam-directed movies. I liked Twelve Monkeys but found Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas unwatchable. This one, despite its so-so reception, intrigued me with the visual artistry shown in the preview; I could at least expect that much.

The titular object is a sort of magic mirror that allows you to step into a realm shaped by the imaginations of you and whoever else is there. Despite this fascinating quality, few modern Londoners show any interest in the old-fashioned carnival-style presentation by Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) and his comrades. Those who do enter tend to be given a choice between a tough self-improvement plan and the seductive path of sin...to death, which may explain why the police keep showing up. But these aren't the heaviest things weighing on Parnassus' mind: The devil (Tom Waits), going by "Mr. Nick," is about to call on him for an immortality fee, namely daughter Valentina (Lily Cole), because this is one of those stories where you can sell others' souls. Things start to look up when Mr. Nick offers a new wager: The first to draw five souls to the corresponding goal in the Imaginarium wins Valentina. And the souls start coming fast with an enigmatic new barker, Tony (Heath Ledger*).

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

Dr. Strange is a tough act to follow, and here I am following it with another major studio's massive spectacle about sorcery. But as a fan of both the Harry Potter books and the accompanying booklet of the same title, I eagerly accepted my parents' invitation to see it with them on Thanksgiving.

Given the booklet's existence as a mere fictional bestiary, this could not really be an adaptation in the same sense as the HP movies. Instead, it's about a brief adventure of wizard Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) in 1926, the year before his bestiary is said to be published. Since Harry's main set of adventures takes place in the '90s, we get none of the same actors and very few familiar names -- apart from Newt, just occasional mentions of headmaster Albus Dumbledore and his fugitive former friend Gellert Grindelwald. Author J.K. Rowling did write the story, so we can still count on it for fidelity -- and indeed, it still feels like the same realm.

At this point, Newt's not doing any biology research exactly. He comes to New York City in order to look for a rare beast to acquire. Unfortunately, he brings several other magical beasts in a magical suitcase that is not as secure as needed. This garners the undesired attention of random non-wizard Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) and disgraced policewitch Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), the latter of whom would have Newt punished and Jacob's memory wiped immediately if not for compromising circumstances. The bigger problem comes when something publicly kills in a way that no normal animal could. Newt insists it's none of his pets, but he takes it upon himself to determine what it is and how they can stop it before the whole city knows that magic exists.